Mariner Review (9/3-9/10 eastern) Long

[cassidyk]

Well I was one of what looks like quite a few of you who was also on the 9/3 sailing of Mariner and below are my thoughts on our experience.

 

Shuttle service: We flew to Orlando and used the transfer service offered by RCI to go to and from the airport to the port. This service worked quite well and went very smoothly and I would not hesitate to use this service again.

 

Embarkation: We arrived to the port at about 12:55 and the port was quite crowded by that point but we were still on board and in our cabin dropping off our stuff in less than 45 minutes. The staff and security were all quite friendly and did their best to move everyone along as quickly as possible.

 

Ship: Okay I won't dwell on this point, the Mariner is beautiful and amazing!

 

Cabin: We had an interior cabin on deck eight and I was pleasantly surprised by how little we missed having a window. Don't get me wrong I really love the ocean view and balcony rooms but the interior is really great for afternoon naps! :-) While the room was small I was very impresssed with how effective the space is used and the amount of storage that the cabin contains.

 

Food: I know this is a hot button issue so please remember that this is my opinion. We had dinner in the dining room all but one evening and found the food to be good. Not necessarily great but overall above average and besides I wasn't cooking or cleaning it up so that makes it all the better! :-) The one evening we did not go to the dining room we ate at Chop's. I am glad that we went and experienced Chops but it is not something that I would feel the need to do again. The atomosphere was nice and the service was good but it was no better than what we received in the dining room every other evening. The food was quite good but it did not bowl me over the way I expected from some of the reviews I had read previously. I was expecting the food to be along the caliber of Morton's or Ruth's Chris and it was not.

 

Service: Overall, I would say that the service we received from RCI was wonderful. Our waiter, Robert, was excellent and made our dinner very enjoyable. He addressed us all by name by the second night and remembered our individual preferences throughout the cruise. A few minor issues (and I stress minor) that we had involved our room steward and the general store where we purchased our liquor to take home. Our room steward was less than stellar. Our room was never dirty but she was very stingy with the bath towels and the soap and was never available when we tried to call for things even though she specifically told us to call if we ever needed anything. In addition we spoke with another couple at lunch one day who also had complaints about her. The other issue involved the general store. We purchased all of our liquor on board because they would price match if you found it for a lower price on shore and they advertised how well they would package for those traveling by plane so that it could be checked and make it home in one piece. When our liquor was delivered on the last night nothing was bubble wrapped or reinforced as we had been promised and when we called about it we were told we would have to bring it back and then pick it up later on that night. Again, a minor thing in the grand scheme of things but it was just a little frustrating that the person that we spoke to was not really apologetic for the mistake. But we did take it back and pick it up later and I am happy to say that all eight bottles made it home safely!

 

Entertainment: I was quite pleased with the entertainment with the exception of the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers. The ice show was great and definitely not to be missed and the secondary entertainment (meaning everything except the two production shows) was the best we have seen. But sadly the RC singers and dancers were a big disappointment. This was a new cast having only been on board for 3 weeks but that is no excuse. I must go on to say that I am a dance instructor/choreographer and formerly a performer myself so I know I am more critical than the average person. The shows themselves (sets, costumes, choreography, light design) were quite good but it was obvious that the cast needed a lot more rehearsal time. The choreography was not sharp, the dancers were not together, their spacing was off and their performance quality was effected by their obvious lack of comfort and confidence in themselves and each other. Okay, I will step off my soap box now!

 

Debarkation: We had a later flight so we had one of the later colors dismissed from the ship but the entire process was quick and painless.

 

Overall, we had a marvelous cruise. This was our first experience with RCI and I would not hesitate to cruise with them again in the future. This ship was amazing and the service level was excellent. So in short I would recommend this cruise in a heartbeat!

[trucruz]

Thank you for taking the time to write a reveiw. We are sailing on the Mariner in Feb. and I am reading everything I can.

[sj25]

So how did they pack your bottles to take home on the plane now that you can't carry on liquids.....I am going in Dec. and already worried I can't bring home my rum and my Sheridans coffee layered liqueur...my favorite....and have only found it on RCCI ships...

[lephysteria]

My review is coming along too (but im embedding pics in mine).

I've detailed what we did to take them home in that story, but here's the exerpt :

 

"We waited until the last possible moment to shop for souvenirs on this cruise. It wasn't so bad, since tshirts don't shatter, but liquor does. I would have never thought that the ship can run out of liquor packing boxes. But they did!!!! We were instead given bubble wrap taped to each bottle. Then we wrapped the 3 bottles in dirty clothes, then put them in the plastic shop-on-board bags, and then nestled them into the middle of the dirty clothes suitcase. We also had one bottle of chardonnay that we never seemed to open, and we packed that in just dirty clothes and brought that home too.

We put the bottles in the checked luggage, and didn't lock our suitcases.

All bottles made it home safe and sound."

 

We also bought 4 bottels of Rum Jumbie splashes in St. Maarten. Those too, made it home ok. The box, however, did NOT make it ok. The handles ripped seconds after we purchased the liquor. I hand carried it, and then it was confiscated after x-ray.

 

Hope this helps :)

[cassidyk]

SJ25,

Be sure to tell the general store/liquor store on board that you are traveling by plane and they will bubble wrap each bottle, put it in the usual cardboard box and then reinforce that box with additional cardboard. We then took that whole thing and packed in our checked luggage and padded around the box with clothes and shoes. We had four bottles (or one of the cardboard contraptions described above) in each suitcase and all eight bottles made it home fine.

 

And BTW, I love the Sheridan's as well! And if you like that be sure to try the two new Starbuck's liquors, delicious!

[sj25]

SJ25,

Be sure to tell the general store/liquor store on board that you are traveling by plane and they will bubble wrap each bottle, put it in the usual cardboard box and then reinforce that box with additional cardboard. We then took that whole thing and packed in our checked luggage and padded around the box with clothes and shoes. We had four bottles (or one of the cardboard contraptions described above) in each suitcase and all eight bottles made it home fine.

 

And BTW, I love the Sheridan's as well! And if you like that be sure to try the two new Starbuck's liquors, delicious!

 

 

Thanks I am really glad to hear they are also helping in making sure we have it packed good...but when do they give it to you in time to still pack in your suitcase and before you have to put it out that night...as I remember right I thought they did..???

Will have to try the starbucks liquors!!

Our last cruise in March we bought one of the Sheridans to use on this cruise but don't know if I'll have trouble getting it on...and have to make sure we pack it good to get to orlando safte....we still buy drinks on board...but feel we purchased this from them and can only get it there....at least like I said I have only found it there...

[cassidyk]

They did deliver the liquor in plenty of time to plan and pack your suitcases accordingly. Something that we did this time that worked really well is to pack a large empty duffle bag on the way there then on the way back we stuffed that full of clothes, shoes, other non breakable items and that left plenty of room in each of our suitcases for the liquor boxes. We also told the airline when we checked the luggage that we were returning from a cruise and had liquor packed in it. They consequently tagged it as "fragile" (whether that helped or not who knows) but we figured it couldn't hurt!

 

BTW, they had free tastings of the starbucks liquors (there are two so be sure to try both, one regular, one starbucks cream) and the Sheridan's along with several other creamy liquors (Bailey's new mint, kahlua, etc) on the first afternoon so make sure to go by so you don't miss it!

[bpear1600]

The production shows on RCI have been horrible for years. In the 80's there was little professional entertainment and the cruise staff put on a couple of variety show which weren't very good.

 

Our last two RCI cruises have been on the Mariner of the Seas and we were very disappointed in the production shows on both cruises as well as the nostalgia acts which were equally bad.

 

On a positive note there seemed to be a higher level of talent among the musical acts in the various lounges, especially the latin band on cruise one.

[whitsmom]

Thanks for your great review. We are looking forward to the Mariner in November. We have a balcony cabin #8588 (our first balcony) so this something we are looking forward to.

 

Did you take your laptop or use the WiFi internet? We are debating on taking our laptop (mainly to download pictures).

[cassidyk]

Whitsmom,

My husband did take his laptop for the purpose of downloading pictures but he did not try out the wifi at all but from what I heard from others it is rather slow.